ANKARA, TURKEY: Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani arrived in Turkey on Thursday for talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as their two neighboring international locations transfer ahead with efforts to strengthen cooperation and restore beforehand tense ties. The talks in Ankara are anticipated to give attention to a brand new peace effort between Turkey and a Kurdish militant group that has a foothold in Iraq, in addition to water provides to Iraq. Erdogan’s workplace mentioned that Turkish and Iraqi officers will ink a collection of cooperation agreements throughout the go to. Relations between Turkey and Iraq have been usually strained over Turkish army incursions into northern Iraq for operations towards the banned Kurdistan Staff’ Occasion, or PKK, and the institution of Turkish army bases there. Baghdad regularly condemned the incursions as a violation of its sovereignty. Extra not too long ago, nevertheless, the 2 international locations have deepened cooperation on safety, together with addressing the PKK presence in northern Iraq. Erdogan visited Baghdad final yr for the primary time in additional than a decade. Additionally final yr, Iraq introduced that the Iraqi Nationwide Safety Council had issued a ban on the PKK, though it stopped wanting designating it as a terrorist group. The go to comes after the PKK’s jailed chief, Abdullah Ocalan, known as on his group to dissolve and disarm as a part of a brand new peace initiative with Turkey. The group declared a unilateral ceasefire in March and is now anticipated to carry a congress in northern Iraq, throughout which it might announce its dissolution, Turkish officers have mentioned. The PKK, which has maintained bases in northern Iraq’s semiautonomous Kurdish area, has fought Turkey for an autonomous Kurdish state. The battle has claimed tens of hundreds of lives for the reason that Eighties. Turkey and its Western allies have designated the PKK a terrorist group. In recent times, Iraqi officers have complained that dams constructed by Turkey are decreasing Iraq’s water provide. The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, which offer most of Iraq’s recent water, originate in Turkey. Consultants worry that local weather change is more likely to exacerbate present water shortages in Iraq, with doubtlessly devastating penalties.
